Villa's Robin Olsen attacked as Man City fans invade pitch to mock Gerrard post EPL win

The Premier League 2021-22 season finished on Sunday with Manchester City being crowned as the champions, having completed a successful title defense after dominating Aston Villa by 3-2 at the Etihad Stadium. From being down by 0-2 at the 76th minute, City stormed to the victory, courtesy of the twin goals by Iikay Gundogan and Rodri. However, while Manchester City celebrated the massive triumph following the final whistle of the game, there was an incident that became the most debated topic for the day.

The City fans flooded into the field following the team’s victory and quickly spread out across the pitch, engulfing both teams. In a video shared by Sky Sports Premier League, the Aston Villa goalkeeper Robin Olsen can be seen getting struck by a fan on the back of his head. According to The Guardian, following the conclusion of the match, Villa coach Steven Gerrard expressed his thoughts about the incident, while Manchester City also apologized in an official statement. 

Watch video of Villa goalkeeper Robin Olsen being attacked

What has been said so far about the incident?

“The answer is no. My goalkeeper was attacked. I think those questions should go to Pep and Manchester City,” said Villa’s manager Steven Gerrard. Meanwhile, according to AP, the Premier League champions apologized for the incident in a statement saying, “Manchester City would like to sincerely apologize to Aston Villa goalkeeper Robin Olsen, who was assaulted after the final whistle at today’s match when fans entered the pitch”. The club informed that an investigation has been opened and the pitch invader would be issued an indefinite stadium ban, upon identification.

Meanwhile, pitch invasions during EPL matches became a rather common phenomenon towards the end of the season, as the English Football Association also expressed their concern regarding the same on Friday. The association informed that it was reviewing its regulations in order to help filter out the behaviour. Having said that, the 32-year-old Swedish goalkeeper also took to his Instagram account later in the day and penned down a message about the incident and also the game. 

Robin Olsen speaks about the attack by the Manchester City fan

“Those idiots who attacked me will not destroy my emotions of todays game. I got the opportunity to make my debut for this fantastic club, and we were really close to get an good result against a though opponent. UTV @avfcofficial,” Olsen wrote. It is pertinent to mention that Olsen was making his debut for Villa in Sunday’s game. He joined Villa in January of 2022, and is due to return to AS Roma after his loan spell comes to an end in June. 

(Image: AP/@avfcofficial/Instagram)